“President Buhari is clueless, he has nothing To offer” -Rasheed Gbadamosi

                                                             

Former Chairman of the Petroleum Products Prices Regulatory Agency, (PPPRA), Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi has said President

Muhammadu Buhari has nothing to offer Nigerians noting that the President does not have any clue when it comes to economic matters.

Gbadamosi who was a former Minister for National Planning made the statement in an exclusive interview with Punch Newspaper, adding that the President’s cabinet members are not vocal enough about the current recession and economic reality facing Nigeria.

The ex-minister said he wasn’t surprised when the Federal Government officially declared that Nigeria was in recession, adding that “it had to happen but it was a question of when it would happen. It was meant to have come a long time ago.”

He said, “Before Buhari’s regime, we had anticipated that the recession would come. It was something that was anticipated but what did we do?”

Gbadamosi believed Nigerian government was not prepared to handle the recession, stressing that prior to it, the government threw caution to the wind.

He said, “It is not just a question of Nigeria saving, we were not totally prepared. I think we threw caution to the wind. Look at what happened to some other nations of the world, they had been through this but they weathered the storm. I think Nigerians thought the world owed us a meal, they believed the world owed us a living.”

He called for the diversification of the economy, adding that for a start, “we might have to look elsewhere. I have been thinking of the coastal region of Lagos that the Folawiyos might want to do something about.” He also urged the government to look at the coastal ways and see if that might work if we open it up.

He said, “I have read about the northern coast line but it is very expensive. It is too expensive to explore oil there at the moment. Let us see if they are able to do something about that. They should also look at the promise of gas. We thought we could do something with gas but we did not.”

His Exact Words In Part:

“If you had spoken to me about this (Buhari’s) government five months ago, I might have been more optimistic. But Buhari has nothing to offer Nigeria when it comes to economic policies. He has no clue when it comes to economic matters. He has no clue. Nigerians should just leave him and let him play the agriculture card.

“President Buhari’s cabinet members are not vocal enough about the current recession and economic reality facing Nigeria.

“They are frightened. They are so frightened by the current situation and they fear for their lives. I think they believe that we may not be able to weather the storm. If we experience another period of drought in this country, we would be in trouble.

“I was not surprised about the recession because before Buhari’s regime, we had anticipated that it would come. It was something that was anticipated but what did we do? There was a feeling that somehow it would not happen and we would be able to weather the storm but that was not the case.

“Poor mother Africa was hopeful that the cross would pass over us but it did not seem to be so. There was a feeling that Olusegun Obasanjo could have averted such a situation if it happened during his time.”